Cyclodextrins as effective tools to reduce the toxicity of atrazine

Abstract

Atrazine (ATZ) is an agrochemical that is still widely used in the Americas to control intrusive weeds in large monocultures. However, its intrinsic toxicity can cause diseases of the endocrine and nervous systems. Cyclodextrins (CDs) are molecular carriers that can be employed to reduce the toxicity of ATZ. In this work, CDs (α, β, and γ) were anchored on silica, forming a hybrid material (CDSI). Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) was used as a model organism to evaluate the toxicity of the following treatments: ATZ; ATZ/α-CD; ATZ/β-CD; ATZ/γ-CD; ATZ/α-CDSI; ATZ/β-CDSI; and ATZ/γ-CDSI. The greatest chromosomal aberrations (CA) and nuclear abnormalities (NA) in the lettuce were observed with non-complexed ATZ. Reductions of CA ranged from 21% for ATZ/α-CD to 59% for ATZ/γ-CDSI, compared to non-complexed ATZ. In the case of NA, the decreases ranged from 29% for ATZ/β-CDSI to 68% for ATZ/α-CD, compared to non-complexed ATZ. The new synthesized CDSI material was found to be a viable option for reducing the toxicity of atrazine herbicide.